Monday, January 9, 2012

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Title: Tuck Everlasting
Author: Natalie Babbitt
Publication Date: 1975
Length: 139 pages

When Winnie Foster runs away from home and goes walking in the nearby woods, she finds a boy, Jesse Tuck, drinking from a hidden spring. Soon, the Tucks are kidnapping Winnie, because she's discovered their secret: they're immortal, because they drank the water from the spring. They explain to Winnie why she can't tell anyone about their secret, and that there's a dark side to being immortal. Things get complicated, however, when a man follows Winnie and the Tucks and wants to sell the magic water to make his fortune.

Tuck Everlasting is a charming children's classic. While it doesn't go into a deep debate about the pros and cons of immortality, it has a simpler message that is basically if everyone were immortal, soon the world would fill up and that would suck.

Winnie is a funny little girl (she's only 10, unlike in the movie where she's a teenager). And the Tucks are all so lovable. The book is short, so there isn't really deep character development for any of the characters, but I think that's ok since it is a kids' book that's pretty short, and the story is good enough to make up for it.

Also, I have a favourite line, but it would be a bit of a spoiler to tell it to you. So if you read this book (or already have), it's the last line that Tuck says in the book. So funny! :-)

4 stars. I've been reading such good stuff lately!

This book counts towards the Read Your OWN Library! Challenge (hosted by The Beauty of Eclecticism) for January. For February, my book for the challenge will be Stolen by Kelley Armstrong. This book also counts for the 2012 A-Z Book Challenge and the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, I remember wanting to talk about that line, too, but now I can't think of it: I'm going to have to (quite happily!) re-read!

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  2. Do you know where I can buy this book with this cover???

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    1. Not off the top of my head; I think I got this in a used book store actually.

      Taking a quick look around, I found it on Amazon.ca (but not .com or .co.uk):
      http://www.amazon.ca/Tuck-Everlasting-Movie-Tie-In/dp/0374480133/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332812531&sr=1-10
      It's through the marketplace, so it's not free shipping, but there are new and used copies for cheap. :)

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